Facebook cuts hundreds of custodial jobs after ending contract with facility management vendor

Facebook parent Meta has cancelled a contract with custodial workers at its Silicon Valley headquarters, resulting in hundreds of job cuts later this month.

Meta informed facility management vendor ABM Industries of the cancellation in mid-June, and the cuts will go into effect on July 25, according to documents filed with the state of California’s employment development department.

In a letter dated July 1, an ABM human resources manager wrote to the department that the decision will affect 368 ABM workers at 1 Hacker Way in Menlo Park, California. Included in the cuts are kitchen cleaners, night cleaners, recycling sorters and cafe support, as well as 10 supervisors and seven managers.

“While the subsequent custodial vendor Meta has hired to perform these services may retain some or all of the ABM employees at this account, ABM has no independent knowledge of that vendor’s hiring plans,” the ABM representative wrote.

The cuts come as Facebook’s online ad business faces a slowdown due to rising inflation, the war in Ukraine and privacy changes to Apple’s iOS. The company said in May that it was slowing the pace of hiring after forecasting a potential year-over-year revenue drop in the second quarter.

The letter didn’t provide a reason for the termination of the contract. A Facebook representative said the company plans to replace the vendor with another company but didn’t say how many workers will be part of the contract.

A representative from ABM didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

ABM, which is publicly traded and employs more than 100,000 people, said on its December earnings call that it counts Facebook, Google and Adobe as clients. ABM said those companies were among those that had “expanded their office footprint.”

Facebook’s facilities have been significantly quieter since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. As the company planned for a return to the office, employees were given the option of applying for permanent remote work. The company reopened its Bay Area offices for some employees in May.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees last week that the company has cut plans to hire engineers by at least 30% this year. On Monday, reports surfaced that Meta leadership had urged employees to identify and report “low performers,” adding “they are failing this company.”

— CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian and Kif Leswing contributed to this report.

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